Greg Berlanti

The WB really was the network that led the way for me to run a show. I happened to be the only man left standing in the third season of “Dawson’s Creek,” and I had only worked on one show previously. But [then-Executive VP of Programming] Jordan Levin always had a keen eye for who he felt was the voice of the show. It didn’t matter to him what a writer’s resume was; it mattered what they had to say.

I would walk into shows on other networks, and they wouldn’t take me as seriously. But at The WB, they gave me a chance.

Through the years, being on the show was sort of like growing up with parents and brothers and sisters. I was definitely learning a lot and making a lot of mistakes. It was a very steep learning curve.

I think really there was a whole new kind of television that they started producing with “Dawson’s.” The show wasn’t afraid to speak to a new generation of viewers. In fact, that idea was championed. A lot of dramas that have music across the board and have multigenerational story lines-those all came out of The WB’s way of telling stories. n

Mr. Berlanti is the creator and executive producer of “Everwood” and “Jack & Bobby” and executive produced “Dawson’s Creek.”